


Stockholm Syndrome

by cassidyxns



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Other, Reader-Insert, Tarn/Reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 12:38:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14497170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassidyxns/pseuds/cassidyxns
Summary: You can't take anything from someone who has nothing to lose.





	Stockholm Syndrome

**Author's Note:**

> If there is a high enough demand, I’ll definitely continue this with a few more chapters!

(y/n) didn’t do much these days. Back on the Lost Light, she would need a justified excuse for wanting to sit around all day in order to keep Ultra Magnus off her back. But not here. Here, aboard the Peaceful Tyranny, she didn’t need an excuse. They could care less if she decided to sleep all day or sit around by the windows just as long as she behaved, considering she was the only hostage and bargaining chip of the Decepticon Justice Division. 

To be fair though, she felt more like a visitant than a hostage, considering her treatment wasn’t necessarily awful. Yeah, at first they kept her locked up in a cage to keep from going underfoot, and to avoid The Pet from getting to her, but after a while they granted her free roam after she proved she was more than capable of staying out of their way. If you remove her formerly busy schedule from the equation, It wasn’t much different than how her time on the Lost Light was. Well, except for the key fact that this ship is crewed by sociopathic murderers. It definitely was a culture-shock to say the least. 

(y/n) knew for a while that the DJD wasn’t necessarily fond of having a human roaming around their ship. But, the fear in their expressions easily cancelled out the disgust she thought they had for her. At first she wasn’t sure why they looked at her like that. But (y/n) later learned from some over-hearing that Tarn had extreme consequences for anyone that were to terminate her albeit it being intentional or accidental, which kind of gave her some comfort in knowing they are too afraid of Tarn to consider her death worth it. She could almost thank the eloquent Decepticon for that if it weren’t for the fact that he was the main reason for her being stuck on this ship to begin with.

It was a no-brainer to everyone why she was targeted. She was quite close to Rodimus and Megatron, the latter resulting in much shock from outsiders considering her species. I guess when you’re the only small, vulnerable, and squishy friend of the former Warlord, many look to you for tactics to get to said ex-warlord. 

So far, she had been with the DJD for a little over a month. After taking some time to fall into a steady routine, it wasn’t very hard to find (y/n) when either Tarn--or someone ordered to scour around for her if he was too busy--needed to check up on her. And by check up on her, it usually means making sure she isn’t dead. Today, she could be found sitting by a window looking out at the cosmos with a solemn expression. 

(y/n) was more than aware of who was approaching her. After some time, she managed to train her ears to tell who’s footsteps are who. Usually, though, she could never really figure out the difference between Tess and Helex. But, at least this helped her when it came to telling if Tarn was out looking for her again. She would purposely position herself out in the open, knowing full well there would be consequences if it appeared like she was trying to hide or stow herself away where she couldn’t be seen. She didn’t want to break the good streak she’s had since arriving here. 

“(y/n)” Tarn called over to her. This time, the way he said it seemed a more casual, unlike his usual “just-checking-to-see-if-you’re-alive” tone. 

(y/n) turned from where she was sitting, and was surprised to see that Tarn was actually waiting for her to respond. If she didn’t know any better, she would be mistaking this for him wanting to begin a conversation with her. 

“Hello, Tarn.” (y/n) greeted. 

“I see you’ve been hanging around the windows lately.” She almost forgot how dangerously observant he was. 

“If you’re implying that I might be plotting an escape, I’m afraid to say you’re wrong.” (y/n) sighed with a recognizable tone of defeat. “I’d explode in seconds.”

“That would be quite a sight.” Luckily for (y/n), she was quite good at hiding the stomach-churning feeling that occurred whenever he made a cruel joke. Sometimes however, his dark humor tempted a laugh or chuckle from her, but she didn’t feel like she was quite on that level with the Decepticon.

“Yeah…” (y/n) exhaled. “Probably.” 

Tarn observed her as she turned back and gave a long stare back out the window. He noticed a while ago that his subtle attempts to get a reaction from her were useless. 

Even now it impressed Tarn how cooperative she has been with him. A small, vulnerable human, alone in space with a handful of the most dangerous and feared Decepticons alive. It was such an unusual sight for him that he felt himself actually respecting her as if she were a member of his own team. Well, maybe not that far, he would tell himself. But it was close. 

(y/n) would usually loathe the silence if it weren’t for the fact that she was terrified of speaking with him. Yeah, he was the one that made the protective threat, but just because Tarn enforced a rule to keep her alive doesn’t necessarily mean he would follow it. She knew enough about him to recognize the fact that he could easily go from chivalrous to murderous if she were to overstep. Even though he had not previously given her a reason to feel this way, she still felt like she was walking on glass whenever he was around. 

Both of them were quite good at hiding their true perspective for one another. Respect and fear. 

For Tarn, however, he decided he was no longer going to hide it. 

“When I first took you, I expected that you’d be a nuisance to deal with.” He spoke, the topic seemingly popping up out of nowhere from (y/n)’s perspective. She looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed with a visibly confused expression. 

“From the moment you were brought aboard my ship, you were cooperative with me. If it were someone else in your position, Cybertronian or human, I’m certain they would have proven my expectations correct.” Tarn continued, looking down at (y/n) with a stare that made (y/n) feel like she would vaporize right then and there. 

His expression then softened to the best of what she could see with his mask. “You’ve proven me wrong at every turn. At first I thought you were just too oblivious to comprehend your predicament.”

Her lips curved into a frown at that last comment. 

“But it then began to occur to me that wasn’t the case.” He continued, surprising even himself that he was admitting this to her. 

“Simply put, I respect you. It takes a lot of individual strength to remain composed around me and my team. Not many could even come close to your level of self-control.” (y/n) couldn’t even believe what was happening right now. Was Tarn… Complimenting her? 

“Uhm…” (y/n) scrambled to find the right words to say. She turned away from him and back towards the window with a small flush on her face. “... Thanks.” 

“It’ll be a shame when I’m forced to terminate you.” He said nonchalantly, as if he didn’t just spend the past few minutes praising her. His body turning away as well, but curiosity took the best of him and he couldn’t help but look at her from the corner of his vision to see if (y/n) would finally react. 

And much to his surprise, she began to chuckle. A very faint smile appeared for the first time since she’s been there. 

“Yeah, truly a loss to your cause, right?” She immediately regretted what she had just said, her smile forming into a mouth gaping expression of pure horror. When she turned and noticed his optics burning with murderous intent, she knew she had crossed a line. If there was one thing she knew never to bring up, it was the Deception cause, especially as a human captive. It would just seem like she was insulting them no matter the context. Oh god, what was she thinking? 

Tarn clenched his fists, before snatching down at her with such force she felt the wind get knocked out of her. His grip was painfully tight around her waist and ribs, leaving her struggling more to regain her ability to breath. 

The intent to murder was the most recognizable emotion that Tarn had. And usually he didn’t have any second thoughts when he felt provoked, but the sight of seeing (y/n) writhing in his grip subconsciously triggered him to release and drop her. Fortunately, she managed a decent landing, avoiding any broken bones. When he noticed that he had just spared her life, he immediately began to tell himself that it was because he needed her alive. Nonetheless, the action made the girl look at him with trembling fear, regardless of what he was thinking. She could care less if he meant it or not, she was terrified. All that effort to gain mutual respect was now lost.

When Tarn had reached down again to make sure she was uninjured, she scurried away from him, revealing a side of vulnerability he had not expected to see from her. It was then that he realized that her non-confrontational behavior was just a cover up to hide how truly afraid she was of the leader. This behavior was very common in his line of duty. This was true fear. He needed to calm her down before she hurt herself. 

He reached for her again, but this time he grabbed her despite her efforts to get away. He brought her up and held her against his chest, before taking his other hand, running his sharp digits gently up and down her spine. She kept screaming and crying, punching his chest. She knew she wasn’t hurting him, it was just pure instinct. After a few minutes though, the surprisingly gentle contact calmed her enough to at least stop assaulting him. 

“Shh…”

(y/n)’s breath hitched. The vibration that ran down her back left her reduced to a shivering, crying mess within seconds, much to her embarrassment. She composed herself quite quickly, hoping Tarn hadn’t noticed.

But of course, he did. 

For a moment, Tarn thought the reaction was just a mere coincidence. He was about to just let it go and return (y/n) back to her makeshift quarters, when an unintentionally low growl made her squirm. 

Oh man, this really changes the game. 

“(y/n)?” He purred, his voice dangerously low, leaving (y/n) unbelievably embarrassed in his embrace. Never in his life had he thought his voice could even affect an organic. Nonetheless, he also didn’t think the reaction would give him such a power trip. 

Tarn made a thorough scanning around the area, making sure no one else was present. He didn’t need anyone seeing him whispering all sweetly to their captive. 

Even in her current state, (y/n) had a hard time deciphering exactly what Tarn was saying to her. All she knew was that it was like sweet honey, and it’s effects were leaving her hazy, shivering, and completely dazed. She felt absolutely degrading like this, but she couldn’t stop him, he seemed to completely have her tranquilized with only a few words. But honestly, she had never felt so at peace before in her life. It was like she was prey being charmed into a false sense of security before being ambushed by a predator. 

Tarn couldn’t even believe the power he felt, knowing he could captivate such an innocent being like this with little to no effort. He stroked her hair with a digit, watching with contentment. She didn’t even flinch. (y/n) leaned against his chest, her form similar to that of a limp doll. His gentle whispers had finally lulled her to a deep sleep, leaving Tarn alone to delightfully contemplate this new find. 

For a few moments, he stood there with many sick thoughts on what he could do next to her. But, as he looked down upon her sleeping form, he realized that traumatizing and violating an innocent captive was distasteful, even for him. The DJD hunted cowards and traitors, and (y/n) is neither of those things. She is just an innocent, defenseless prisoner. She had virtually nothing aboard this ship. Sadistic pleasure is not gained by assaulting captives… Because you can't take anything from someone who has nothing left to lose.


End file.
